AN: Sorry this one is shorter than usual, but... time for another setup chapter! Yay... But hey, Lamae and Kindred Judgement come after this, so we'll be charging headlong into the final third of the story pretty soon.

Hey. Thanks for reading. You rock.

Jul

Lucius

I stared up at the top of the tent from my bed – an actual bed that Elisif had sent just for me for this battle. I had tried to refuse it, but Hadvar had told me doing so would be somewhat insulting. "The Queen sent it for you, Luc," he had said. Hadvar then had glanced over my shoulder before winking at me. "Get some use out of it." I had glanced over my same shoulder – Serana was speaking with one of my housecarls. I blushed as what Hadvar meant came to my mind.

Now, as I said, I stared up at the top of the tent, my fingers tangled in Serana's hair. She was asleep, her head resting in the crook of my shoulder and one arm draped across my chest. Her breathing was steady, warm and constant against my neck. It was... nice. This moment of quiet where all I had to do was appreciate what I had. Serana murmured in her sleep, tossing slightly; I stroked her head and she sighed, drifting back to sleep.

Tomorrow, I thought with a heavy sigh. This moment of happiness and relief was merely the calm before the storm, and I would soon be standing shoulder to shoulder with enemies once again, ready to betray them, betray my honor in the name of the greater good. For now I got the chance to appreciate what was easily one of the best moments in my life, the cool skin of Serana against my own.

"You're not very good at sleeping at night, you know," Serana suddenly said. I turned slowly to look down at her. Serana's golden eyes stared at me dryly. "And that's coming from a Vampire."

"Hey, you slept for what? Ten thousand years? Excuse me if I'm not quite as in practice as you are," I retorted. Serana snorted in laughter and nuzzled her head into my neck, sighing contentedly. "You seem happy. I'll take that as a compliment."

"Mmm," Serana moaned, "don't push your luck." She patted my shoulder and curled her leg around my own. "It's not nearly attractive as you think."

I scoffed and brought my cheek down to Serana's head, breathing in her scent. "Oh, really?" I asked.

"Well..." Serana admitted.

I smiled. "There's something else, isn't there?" I asked, playing with her hair absently again. "You've been thinking about it for a while, whatever it is."

"You know me so well," Serana said.

"Well, it's not hard when I've always got an eye on you," I admitted, shrugging. Her head bobbed up and down with my shoulder. "I don't want this to go to your head, but it's kind of hard to take them off of you."

"Flattery will get you somewhere," Serana told me, planting a quick kiss on my jawline. "But yes, I do have something on my mind.."

"Septim for your thoughts?"

"How generous," she deadpanned. "Tell me, how much are you worth right now?"

"Too much," I muttered. I leaned away from her and pouted. "Come on, tell me?"

"Okay, okay," Serana groaned. "No need to beg. I've been thinking about... us."

"Oh?" I asked, a chill running down my spine. Since when were those words ever a good thing. What a time to spring this on me. "Hhhhhhow so?"

"Well... I mean, I'm an immortal and you... aren't," Serana said, pushing herself up onto her elbow. She sighed. "That's not ideal."

"I'll survive!" I said, surging upward and holding her shoulder.

Serana examined my face, then began to laugh uncontrollably. "What?" I asked. That only made her laugh louder and harder. "Serana, w-what are laughing about? What? Whhaaaaat?"

"You are taking this the wrong damn way, Luc," she said. She leaned forward and planted a long kiss on my lips, pulling away slowly. "This isn't... wow, right now? That would be... terrible. Are you an idiot?"

"The answer has yet to be determined," I muttered. I smiled sheepishly. "But... then what?"

"Luc, I'm thinking about not being a Vampire," Serana said, smiling. My heart skipped a beat and Serana's face soured. "Well?"

"I just want you to be sure," I said. I clenched my fist around the blankets. "I mean, I approve, but... Serana I'm in this for you. If you want this, want it for yourself."

Serana sighed and shook her head. "Oh, you idiot," she groaned, rubbing the bridge of her nose. "That's already how I've been thinking of it."

"Hey, don't give me glowing red angry eyes," I said mockingly. "This is a serious topic, and the last time I brought it up you nearly tore my throat out and drained me of blood. And we were already sleeping together by that point. Forgive me if I'm just... making sure you want this."

Serana sighed and leaned against my shoulder. "I know. And you were pretty close to getting killed last time, I'll give you that," she said, a laugh in her voice. "But, Luc, I think this is the best option for me. The Bow needs my blood to be tainted, so my father is going to keep coming after me until he succeeds. Or if he dies, other Vampires will keep trying. If we're playing the odds, across of all of time, it's bound to catch up with me. Especially when you're no longer around to help me stumble through this."

"As I do," I agreed.

"Yeah. You're so helpful," she said, somewhere between sarcastically and sincerely. "I just don't want to worry that everyone will be coming for me forever. And besides, you've kind of rubbed off on me; blood doesn't taste good anymore, coffins are not comfortable anymore, I sleep at night. Divines above, I don't even worship Molag Bal anymore! I think any one of those would be reason enough to turn in my Vampire membership."

I smiled. "Well, then I'll do everything I can to help," I told her. I kissed the top of her head, then placed my chin where my lips had just been. "Being Archmage and a Vampire hunter, I might... 'know an elf who knows a guy.' If you'll have me, I'll go with you to Morthal as soon as this battle is over. I have a few favors I can call in; we can ask Jarl Idgrod if the rumors about her Court Wizard are true, if he actually has figured out the secret to curing Vampirism."

Serana laughed. "What?" I asked.

"Curing Vampirism. In a way, it is exactly what Bal hates the most and loves the most," Serana explained. I glanced at her quizzically. "Dominating the god of Domination?"

I nodded. "But who cares about him?" I asked, twisting suddenly so Serana was beneath me on the bed. "We're the only ones here, after all."

Fahiil

Thera

"You understand what I have asked you to do?" I asked my Thrall, exerting my will on the slave's mind.

"Yes," the warrior moaned, his eyes glazing over.

"Good, then go," I commanded, gesturing with my hand so it would leave.

"What was that about?" Harkon asked, approaching from across the empty war camp. The armies were amassed, the artifacts passed out, and our spies information confirmed. It was the day that our war with Lamae Bal would begin and end. All that remained was for Lucius, Serana, and me to group together with the Bow of Auri-El and our strike team so we could make our way towards finding and killing the First Vampire herself.

"A backup plan," I responded after a momentary pause, my eyes still watching the former Dawnguard soldier stumbling away. He was a nobody, I had made sure. But one who showed promise. He would not be missed, but he would finish his job and taint the group's reputation simultaneously. "Should one of our goals not meet with... complete success."

"Clever," Harkon said with a smile. "There is always a place for initiative in the Court."

I rolled my eyes internally. "Thank you, Lord Harkon," I replied outwardly. I turned and bowed my head. "You honor me."

"Are you prepared for the coming battle?" he asked.

I shook my head. "Physically and mentally? Indeed. I have also returned to the battle camp in order to finish acquiring all of my equipment. A war against Lamae deserves my fullest attention and greatest strength. Leather armor is not what our first interaction in months calls for. I had some armor delivered by a fool who believes me to be allied with the Stormcloaks, a great blacksmith. I plan on using it during the coming battle."

"Well then, hurry. The scouts have told us she and her army approach. Her host is much larger than we believed, though with you and the Butcher of Skingrad at the helm that should not be a problem," Harkon explained. He paused. "It will not be a problem, will it?"

I hesitated. "We will be successful," I said finally. I turned to leave and collect my armor and weapons. "Though I hope you understand that there are two possible outcomes in the event of our victory. We are victorious and we take the Bow and Serana, as we planned. Or we succeed in only taking one of them. In that event, we have only one choice."

"What would that be?" Harkon asked.

I smiled and looked over my shoulder at Harkon. "We take your daughter. Lucius would ignore everything that Isran commanded. Essentially, if we capture your daughter, we capture the bow." I turned and walked from Harkon, confident that my words had been successful in planting my plans in Harkon's mind. "Make no mistake, we will most likely only capture one of the two, and I am sure that the Dawnguard are considering a betrayal the same as us. The bow will be under tight guard. Basically, Lord Harkon, if we do not capture your daughter, I doubt we will ever capture the Bow either."